Promise
by Carochinha
Summary: Two months passed since the ending of the Alice Game. Shinku is desesperately trying to wake her two sleeping sisters up. Jun thinks that she's trying too hard. But... Will a promise and a new shop opening where Enju's used to be change it all?
1. Promise

Hello, everyone. Yes, I am alive. Yes, I'm updating this. And yes... I am rewriting this.

I hope you like this new version more than you did the previous one. I certainly do.

So, you know, all rewritten chapters will have "This chapter has been rewritten." on them. Until chapter 8 or so when I stopped writing last... year. After I rewrite all the chapters, I'll delete these notes.

Please enjoy, everyone. It's good to be back.

_**This chapter has been rewritten.**_

* * *

There was an unusual silence in the Sakurada household. Perhaps, not so unusual, after all, it had been two months since the showdown with Barasuishou. Without HinaIchigo running around turning his life into chaos along with Suiseiseki, things had gotten pretty quieter. Well, it wasn't that Suiseiseki wasn't around, but since Souseiseki had lost her Rosa Mystica, her twin sister was pretty downcast.

Jun was sitting at his desk, trying to concentrate on his homework, but the silence just filled his head, leaving space for nothing else. It was pretty ironic, how after such a long time of fighting for silence, it was now such an impossible thing to bear.

Even Nori was downstairs quietly preparing dinner, probably with Suiseiseki's help. She had never made flower-topped hamburgers again after what happened with Enju and his doll.

Looking at his side, Jun saw his bed… Except that he barely did. It was completely covered in thick, hard-cover books, most of which in foreign titles, probably German or something similar. And, right in the middle of that organized, chaotic assemble of reading material, was a doll, reading one of those books.

"She really does look tired." was the first thought to cross Jun's mind as he looked at the blond girl.

"Hey, Shinku…" he started "Are you sure you aren't overexerting yourself? It's been two months. I'm sure nothing bad would happen if you'd rest for a bit."

Of course, when her blue eyes focused on his dark golden ones, they carried a message of disgust.

"Jun." she said, with that assertive tone of hers, almost enough to make him reconsider ever speaking again "Both Souseiseki and HinaIchigo are still… asleep. You know it's my duty to discover how to wake them up. As you just pointed out, it has been two months. I should have awoken them a long time ago. For them, these months must have been full of nightmares... And for me… Well, there's the nightmares, too, but of course, along with deep regrets. I can't stop working. I have to wake them."

"But Shinku…" he got up from his chair, and sat down on his bed, next to her, after moving some books aside. "You are getting so tired these days! You might even miss an important clue, being so sleepy!"

"Do you mean to say that my work isn't always perfect?" she was looking at him with cold eyes, and he quickly reformulated his sentence.

"N-No!, I'm just saying, you've always said that sleep was one of the most important things in our lives! And when you don't get enough rest, you know, you might…"

She sighed.

"I know."

"What?"

"You are right, Jun." she looked up at him, a sad smile on her face. "Anyone can see how tired I am. Even I can see that. However… For as much as I want to rest… I don't want to rest."

Tears started forming in her eyes, slowing falling down her cheeks.

"I-I… I am the only one who can do anything, don't you see? I just want to wake them up, so we can all be happy again. Every day, I see how gloom Suiseiseki is… She's never been like that, for the hundreds or years I've known her! And… This house… Without HinaIchigo being awfully noisy, it just feels wrong, you know?"

"I know" he answered, seeing as her words almost perfectly matched his thoughts some minutes ago. "I know exactly what you mean. But you know… You're not doing anything good for them by doing this to you. I miss them too. We all do. I think even Suigintou does. But… We need you, Shinku."

That was probably the breaking point for the exhausted doll. The book she was holding fell on the floor, and she just started crying, her hands curled up into fists.

That was so unexpected and so un-Shinku-like that Jun just didn't know what to do.

"Shinku…" he sighed. Then, he embraced the doll, pulling her onto his lap, her head on his chest while her tiny hands grabbed fistfuls of his shirt, as she just kept crying. And there they sat, by what the clock told Jun to be about ten minutes, but by what looked to him like a lot less time.

She stopped crying, and let go of his now thoroughly wet shirt.

"I'm sorry, Jun. That was very unladylike of me."

He smiled.

"It's okay. I guess even you can be cute sometimes…" his phrase was cut short with the deadly look she showed him. "What I mean is…"

He looked her in the eyes, seeing so much more than just a charmed doll. That was Shinku, the fifth doll of the Rozen Maiden, and someone to whom Jun owned a lot of his current happiness. And a lot of his current sadness too.

"Shinku. Don't worry. I… I will help you. I'll help you, and together, we'll find a way to wake them up. There's nothing impossible for us, Shinku. I… I promise you."

"You promise that you'll help me find a way to wake them up?"

"Yes. I do." Still maintaining eye contact, he grabbed hold of her hands. "But Shinku, please… Please promise me something too. Please promise that in order to wake them up, you won't do anything stupid or reckless. That includes overexerting yourself."

She squeezed his hands.

"I know you'll find a way, Jun. And, yes. I promise not to do anything reckless." She smiled.

He was about to extend his pinkie finger when a thought crossed his mind.

"That's right, where you come from there must be other ways to seal promises, perhaps?"

"Oh." she replied, a blush creeping on her cheeks. "Yes… We… We Rozen Maiden dolls did seal promises in some other way."

"Really now? In which way?"

"We… We used to kiss." she was now really avoiding eye contact.

"Oh." It was his turn to blush. "Why did you say "used to"?"

"Well, when the Alice Game started… There was really no one we could trust anymore, isn't that so? And how can you promise something to someone whom you do not trust?"

"R-right."

"Then again… The Alice Game is now over… Is it not?"

Her eyes focused on his again, and he gulped. Did she mean… For him to… K-kiss her? Certainly she couldn't…

But just as these thoughts crossed his mind, her eyes closed, and her lips parted slightly, letting a soft sigh escape.

Jun was completely paralyzed. She really was expecting a kiss from him! He looked around nervously, expecting Suiseiseki to appear out of nowhere and start yelling that he had a fetish for dolls. Of course, he remembered, Suiseiseki was not in the mood for that anymore. And the reason for that was also the reason he was making this promise.

"This is a promise, Jun." he thought "A promise, not a kiss. It's not like you want to kiss a doll or anything…"

Slowly, he moved his face closer to hers, feeling her soft breath on his lips. Surely they had to be more than dolls… Who'd ever heard of dolls that breathed, and ate, and made him feel all those strange, unexplainable feelings down in his heart?

Jun placed his lips atop of her smaller ones, like a soft, blooming rose, so pink and perfect. She pressed those lips on his own, and a soft, red light began radiating, much likely the same one that appeared whenever she used her power.

Slowly, he began moving backwards, but she wouldn't have any of it, and her arms circled his neck, keeping him in place. Of course, this being Jun, the added pressure made him fall backwards, hitting his neck on a pile of hard cover books.

Shinku let go of him, and was now sitting on his chest. Their eyes met again, and she looked more serious than she had ever looked. The blush spreading on her cheeks like wildfire pretty much destroyed that image.

"Jun, I hope that you know that the promise we have now sealed is a most sacred one. But…" she hopped down from him, landing softly on the floor. "You might be quite a lousy servant, but I know you'll stick to what you promised."

She started heading for the door.

"Thank you, Jun." she said softly. "Now if you wouldn't mind, I haven't had my tea for such a long time. Go prepare me some."

He usually would have fought against her orders, but he just smiled softly this time.

"Certainly… Shinku." And he picked her up, and they both left the room, happier than they had been when they last entered it.


	2. Laura

For a revised chapter, this one is quite short.

When I first started writing this fanfic, I didn't even know there was a manga, so my version of Kirakishou isn't the "loli-eating murderous laughing doll that only exists in the N-field" one. She is just a normal Rozen Maiden doll.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

_**This chapter has been rewritten.**_

* * *

Just as Jun was sealing a promise with Shinku, somewhere else in that very same town, something else was happening, just like destiny had decided that that day would be the one where it'd put it's plan in course.

Tomoe was Jun's classmate, however, normally they wouldn't go home together, since she had kendo practice until later. That day was one such as those. The sun was already setting as she made her way home. However, as she was walking, something appeared in her way.

And quite literally, too. There was a moving truck parked right in the middle of the road. Men were walking around, carrying boxes and furniture inside a house. Tomoe couldn't be more surprised when she saw exactly where they were carrying those things.

It was Enju's old shop, it's big, beautiful window now covered in dust, same dust covering the floor and flying through the air as the men moved around. That shop had been having some meaning to the Rozen Maiden for a while now, and she couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't done with that place yet.

So she decided to take a peek inside, to see just what kind of person had bought the building. But she couldn't see anyone except men putting boxes down and mounting furniture.

"Hum, may I help you?" a soft voice asked from behind her.

Tomoe quickly turned around, seeing a girl that should be about her age, a big sports bag in her hands, and a surprised look on her face.

"Oh, no, I was just wondering who might have bought this place. You wouldn't happen to know, would you?"

She giggled.

"Well, I certainly hope I do know, or else I'd be in great trouble!"

"…?" a puzzled look had settled itself on Tomoe's face.

"I bought it. I'm going to open a shop here by next week."

"What? But… But you look my age!"

"Well, in a way, I probably am about your age. Not that that matters."

"In a way?"

"Forget it, I'm just rambling." She shook her head. "By the way, I'm Laura. Laura… coff coff." her speech was cut short as a cloud of dust came flying from the shop, sending her into a coughing fit.

"Oh god, this place is really dusty! I hope I'm able to get everything ready by next week!"

For Tomoe, something about that green-eyed girl was very mysterious. Maybe she did have something to do with the Rozen Maiden?

"Do you want some help? Me and a friend of mine could come over here after school tomorrow and help you some."

"Seriously? That would be so very nice! I'd always heard that people in Japan were nice, but not like this! Thank you!"

'People in Japan?' thought Tomoe. 'That means she comes from somewhere else, doesn't it? But her Japanese is way too fluent for that… Even though she does look a bit like a foreigner…'

"Well, I have to get home now, but I'll be back tomorrow. It's was nice to meet you."

"Oh wait, I didn't catch your name!"

"I'm Tomoe. Tomoe Kashiwaba."

"Okay, Kashiwaba-san! I'll be expecting you and your friend tomorrow! Thanks a lot for your help!"

As Tomoe went home, Laura entered her shop, tying her long, brown hair into a messy ponytail. She dropped her sports bag, grabbing a suitcase that was close by, and hurried upstairs, entering what would be her room. She put the suitcase down, and quickly exited the room again.

After about half a minute, she came back holding a much smaller box. While she had been gone, the suitcase had opened by itself, and a doll and now pacing around the room, her long, wavy pink-hair tied in two ponytails, and her light olive eye focused on her medium.

"*sigh* Kirakishou, Brother really did screw things up this time, didn't he? I never understood how he manages to disappear exactly when he's needed." She sat down on the floor, a big poufy cloud of dust appearing "And of course, when everything's said and done, he comes back with some phrase that's going to have a huge impact on those who don't understand what's going on! What was it this time?"

"'There are many ways to become Alice.' I believe." the pink-haired doll sat next to her medium, looking at the box in Laura's hands.

"Yeah, that was exactly it. And that Enju! God, I know he was being tricked by that demon Laplace, but still! He was Brother's apprentice, he should've known better!"

"Laura, we're in Japan now. Keep saying Brother and someone is bound to ask questions."

"R-right." She said sheepishly

"And… One more thing. That girl you met today…"

"Oh, she was really nice, wasn't she? To offer to help me and everything…!"

"She has been a medium."

"Oh. Well, that certainly makes our search easier." Laura opened the box in her hands, and inside, two red stoned shone with a magical light. "You know, I never really congratulated you on getting these back from Laplace."

"He's a demon, but he plays by certain rules. I only had to discover the loop-holes. Anyway, that friend she is bringing tomorrow is probably also related to us."

"Of course he is." She sighed. "I once believed in coincidences. Of course, that was before knowing what having this name meant. I… I just wish Br… Onii-sama would take responsibility for something!"

"Laura…"

"Well, this is no time for self-hate. We have guests tomorrow, Kirakishou. And…" she looked at the stones. "We have to return these, right?"


	3. Painting

Finally, a chapter of decent lenght! And even so, it's half the "normal" size of my chapters! I guess this fanfic just wasn't made to have long chapters...

Anyway, about the lack of "desu" in here, I can give a very nice, very short explanation: I felt like a super-kawaii-sugoi-desu-fangirl writing it. And anyway, I bet you can hear the desu in your mind xDDDD

So, yeah, I hope you enjoy it! If I'm not mistaken, the next chapter was already a huge one, so rewritten... It is also one of my favorite chapters, and this time around, I'm going to use it to explain a lot of stuff. Like why I made Laura and Alice have brown hair and green eyes instead of the classic Alice image of blue eyes and blond hair.

So, yeah. Bye now.

_**This chapter has been rewritten.**_

* * *

Nori had a habit of waking up quite early, even on weekends. That way, she had time to prepare everyone's breakfast and do other chores around the house before the usual chaos would begin. Of course, as things were, there wasn't that need to prepare for chaos anymore. However, old habits die hard, and she would still wake up early.

So, as she was brushing her teeth, it was a surprise to hear the doorbell ring. She quickly finished her business and ran to the door, wondering who would be ringing the doorbell so soon. Perhaps some special mail delivery? There had been an influx of German books a couple weeks ago, so maybe…

Instead of clearing her doubts, opening the door only made them stronger. On her doorstep was Tomoe, wearing casual clothes and not carrying her kendo sword.

"Tomoe-chan?" Nori couldn't suppress the surprise tone in her voice.

"Sorry to bother you so early." The younger girl quickly answered.

"Oh, it's no problem, I was already awake. What brings you around?"

"I… I need to talk to Jun. Something weird happened yesterday."

"Oh?"

"I think it might be related to the Rozen Maiden and the Alice Game." a look of seriousness settled itself upon Nori's face after hearing this. "Someone moved into Enju's old shop."

"Are you sure it isn't just a coincidence?"

"A foreigner girl that can't be much older than we are opening a shop all by herself? And in that place? And… Something about the way she spoke and what she said… It all felt very weird."

"I see. Well, sorry to disappoint you, but Jun's still asleep. Would you like me to go wake him up?"

Just as Nori finished her sentence, the door to Jun's bedroom opened, and Suiseiseki appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Why is there so much noise this early in the morning? Oh, Tomoe. Are you here to see Chibi-Ichigo?"

"No, actually I needed to talk to Jun."

"So the Chibi-Human it is. Wait just a moment, I'll go wake him up for you!"

Both Tomoe and Nori were expecting Jun to come out of his room yelling while Shinku complained about the noise, but surprisingly, they heard Suiseiseki talking to him in a soft voice, telling him to wake up, and that Tomoe was there to see him.

Jun walked out of the room still looking sleepy, and started going down the stairs.

"So, what's the big emergency that couldn't wait until a decent hour?" he yawned.

"I'll tell you on the way. I think it's about the Rozen Maiden."

"You… think?" he looked confused.

"Just go get dressed, Jun-kun. I'll prepare you some breakfast to eat on the way. Now, Tomoe, would you please come in? You've been standing there for 5 minutes."

"Oh… Sure." They both said.

"Well, now that you explained it, it does seem suspicious." Jun answered while eating his toast.

"Maybe it was just my memories from that place, but I had this weird feeling… Like I was being watched."

"I've been thinking about something else too. Barasuishou… She was a fake Rozen Maiden, right?" Tomoe nodded in agreement. "Well, that means that there's still a seventh doll somewhere."

They both proceeded in silence until they reached Enju's old shop. The big window was still covered in dust, and they couldn't see inside. After exchanging a quick look, they decided to go inside.

There was no one to be seen inside the shop, only a lot of footprints on the dusty floor.

"Excuse me!" Tomoe said loudly.

They both heard something hit the floor upstairs, and then what could only be described as someone running down some stairs. In 30 seconds time, Laura was coming out of what had been Enju's workshop.

"Sorry! I was sewing some dresses upstairs and I didn't hear you coming in."

"Sewing… dresses?" Jun asked.

"Oh, you must be the friend Kashiwaba-san mentioned yesterday!" she happily said, looking at his ring discreetly. "Thank you so much for helping me out! There are just so many heavy things to carry…"

The three of them set out to work, Tomoe cleaning the windows while Laura swept the floor. Jun was left with the task of moving huge cabinets and expositors to where Laura told him, after she'd swept that part of the floor.

After about three hours, Jun started getting hungry. Two hours after that, both girls seemed to have decided on some final, minor details and deemed the shop ready for costumers… If not for the lack of objects.

"I'll guess I'll hang some paintings around… And I need to bring down all the things I'm going to sell! But for now… What do you two say to some lunch?"

"Yes, please." was Jun's quick answer.

"Okay then. I'll go arrange something." Laura said, running to the workshop.

"Oh, wait, I'll help you!" said Tomoe, running after her after shooting Jun a look that clearly said: "Snoop around."

The problem was, Jun thought, there wasn't anything to snoop! It was just furniture, and he had moved most of it there himself!

Suddenly, something caught his attention. Laura had said something about hanging paintings, hadn't she? But there was already one painting hanged, right next to the door to the workshop (Jun guessed it wasn't a workshop anymore, but he didn't really know what use she would be giving it, so workshop worked). And it wasn't such a small painting either! It was almost a meter and a half in length and perhaps a meter in height.

Jun had the feeling that hanging that painting was one of the first things she had done when she had moved in… Like some people, even before unpacking most furniture, put pictures of their family and friends on fireplaces and tables. It just made it feel more like home.

Of course, Jun couldn't say exactly why Laura's family would be on a big painting and not on a freaking photography like everyone else's.

He decided to take a closer look. Yep, the girl in the image was definitely Laura, even if some years younger. And the other girl in the picture… Yes, it was definitely Laura too.

Wait… What?

The painting depicted two young girls, clad in Renaissance style dresses. They both had long, brown hair, and green eyes. They were sitting in a sofa, hands intertwined. However, you could see some minor differences between the girls. Whoever painted that must have been very skilled. One of them looked restless. Like if she thought that sitting there for hours was a waste of her time. The other one looked completely at peace. Like nothing in the world could make her mad. She was looking straight to the painter, and Jun felt like she was staring inside his soul. And their feet too. The restless looking one had one foot slightly forward and the other slightly underneath the sofa, as if she had been shuffling them. The other one had her legs crossed at her ankles.

But what weirded out Jun the most… Was that the picture looked centuries old! But that certainly wouldn't be possible. After all, both girls in the picture were the spitting image of Laura… Even though he would probably say that Laura was the most restless one. But how could that be possible? For her to be on a painting centuries old?

Everything made sense (not) when he, with much effort, removed the painting from the wall. It wasn't heavy, but it was hard to grab… He turned it around, supporting it against the wall. He kneeled, seeing something written down at the bottom, in an elegant, handwritten style.

"For my two, beautiful sisters, without whom I wouldn't be who I am today.

To Laura, my tireless helper, without whom I wouldn't be able to do my job.

To Alice, my perfect girl, without whom I wouldn't know how to live."

Jun had learned something over the past half an year. The words "Alice" and "perfect girl" on the same sentence meant one thing. Rozen Maiden related stuff.

He also spotted something else. A date. And a name.

"Thomas Rozen, 1329"

A shadow was cast over him, and looking up, he saw Laura. He got up with a jump, not knowing if he should apologize or ask what in the world was going on. She smiled.

"You sure were fast, huh? Well, I guess the picture is pretty obvious."

"You… Them… Alice… Could someone please explain what is happening and why you are in a painting that is almost 700 years old?"

"Certainly, I could. But first… The lunch is ready. Would you care for some?"


	4. Rozen

So here it is, guys. The massive OC chapter. This is really just my version of how this happened. Things that weren't ever explained, really. Things that in my mind made sense. Like my headcanon that Rozen isn't a great helper to the Rozen Maiden. And other things...

I hope you like it guys. Holy hell, this is actually legit long. 4000 isn't nothing to sneer at!

So, yeah, have fun! I'll be back, and don't worry, Laura's only around to move the story forward! Shinku/Jun romance coming up soon! Along with Sui/Sou sisterly feelings that will shatter your heart to pieces if I can write as I can imagine!

_**This chapter has been rewritten.**_

* * *

Jun thought he had never found himself in such a strange situation.

The three of them were sitting around a small table Tomoe had brought down, eating curry with rice. Jun had about a million different questions flying around his head, but he wasn't sure if he should ask any of them! Neither Tomoe nor Laura were speaking, which made Jun pretty uncomfortable about starting blurting out questions.

When they were all about halfway through their meal, Laura started speaking, startling Jun a bit. He more like jumped in the air and almost dropped his curry.

"In this world, there are various things unexplainable by science just yet. Maybe one day they'll be, but, since I was born until now, one thing still hasn't. That is what I've learned to call the "Gift of the Dollmaker". Most people do have it, but at a very low level. Some other people have a bit more of it, and make plushies and iconic characters… Both Walt Disney and the creator of the Barbie doll had these characteristics. Then there is another level of this gift. Very few have it. By very few I mean one person every 200 years at least. You have to understand that all dolls have life in them. But these dollmakers are the only ones capable of truly making a living doll. The Rozen Maiden are a prime example of these dolls, when compared with all the others."

Jun thought of his old toys that Shinku had awakened once. There was a clear difference.

"In 1327, the Renaissance period of history had just started. People everywhere, doctors and artists and musicians were flocking to Paris, it's capital. One of the families that traveled there was the Rozen, an English family. There was Joseph Rozen, a doctor, famous world-wide for his techniques. They said that if you brought a corpse to him that still hadn't cooled down, he might be able to bring it back to life. Like the gift of the dollmaker, this man had the gift of life. The gift of being able to cure people.

Elizabeth Rozen, coincidently, had the gift of life as well. But her area of expertise was people's minds. Many said she was, in truth, a mind-reader, but she always knew what to say to dissuade them from those ideas. After all, she was adored by everyone, and always knew exactly what to do in every single situation.

They both met back in England, and got married. They had had a son, whom they named Thomas. This young man, born of such wonderfully skilled parents, had the gift of the dollmaker. His dolls were so life-like, even at a young age, that people expected them to just start moving!

However, and this is important, no matter how skilled the dollmaker is, no matter how alive his dolls are, he by himself cannot wake them up. Only an equivalent gift of life would be able to do that.

A few years later, when Thomas had just turned seven, his mother got pregnant once again. Everyone that met her always said: "Oh, after Thomas, your next child will probably be just as wonderful!"

And she was. While Thomas had his father's blue eyes and his mother's blond hair, the little girl that had just been born had her mother's green eyes and her father's brown hair. Even as a little newborn baby, she made everyone feel marvelous when she looked at them with her big, green, shining eyes.

So it was a great surprise to everyone when Elizabeth shouted: "I think there is another one!" Everyone in the room, from Joseph to the doctors to little Thomas, was cooing around the little girl… And suddenly there was another one on the way.

The second girl looked exactly like the first one… Except she didn't. She had exactly the same features, but she looked completely different! While the first girl looked like a little angel, the other one… Well, she was a completely normal baby!

The "little angel" ended up being named Alice, the name her parents had decided on long ago for if they had a daughter. The second girl… She was me. Laura Rozen."

Laura made a little pause, as if waiting for the whole information to sink in. Both Jun and Tomoe were listening eagerly.

"Anyway, in 1322, we traveled to Paris, as I mentioned before. Both I and Alice were 5 years old, while Thomas was 12. In the meanwhile, he had become a great dollmaker, and flocks of girls followed him anywhere he went. Alice… Well, she was Alice. What else might there be to say?" Laura sounded a bit bitter. "She had two people gifted with the gift of life for parents, of course she would be wonderful. I guess no one simply had any idea of how wonderful she would be!

You have probably heard this a hundred times already, but Alice was more sublime than any flower, purer than any gem and without a touch of impurity. And she really was. It was like God had decided to bestow an angel on this Earth. Around her, no one could feel anything bad. It was like she had the gift of warming people's hearts.

She also had the gift of awakening dolls. They made a perfect match, Thomas and Alice. Whenever people saw them together, there would only be compliments. It was like they had been made to fit together. Both of them had this aura of light around them… like they were on a superior level. Like gods, perhaps."

To Jun, this sounded a lot like the description both Shinku and Souseiseki had made of "Father".

"But, Laura, what about you?" he asked.

"Oh… I… I wasn't really anything special. Both my father and my mother had spent all of their powers creating Thomas and Alice. I was, and I still am, perfectly normal!"

Neither Jun nor Tomoe thought that being alive for almost 700 years was normal, but neither said anything about that.

"Anyway, I would usually help my brother with his dolls. For as good as he was creating them, he was a failure at sewing! I wasn't much better but I really wanted to be useful, so I learned. I sewed the dolls dresses, and the inside of their boxes. It was all I could do.

So, I started this story back in 1327, and that's where I am going now. That year, a horrible disease took over the world, and both my mother and my father died.

But, it was okay, you know? I had Thomas and Alice, and I loved them with all my heart. We were okay, financially, he made a fortune selling his dolls! We lived happily, the three of us, for two years. Then one day, my sister was awfully agitated. She was making something in Thomas workshop! Both I and my brother were dumbfounded. When she came out, she was holding a ruby shaped like a rose in her hand. She quickly gave it to my brother, telling us that it would make a doll made by Thomas turn human. She grabbed my hand and dragged me off the house, all the way to a park. She told me something bad was going to happen to her. She told me she might die. And she gave me a small box, with seven different stones inside, all very round. Amethyst, emerald, jade, lapis lazuli, ruby, rose quartz and diamond. I couldn't understand what she meant with all that. She also told me a lot of things about those stones and the rose, which I'll explain later.

A couple months later, both I and my brother had completely forgotten all about it. Alice was as perfect as ever… And everything was fine… Until one day, Alice was kidnapped. What the kidnappers wanted, neither I nor Thomas ever discovered, for they were found dead, just as Alice.

Neither I nor him knew what to do anymore. Alice was our light, our everything. She was our angel, she was the angel of Earth! For a month, we survived because we had caring servants. One day, I was able to recover. My brother never did. Even after he regained control of his life, he became obsessed with one thing:

What Alice had told him about the rose. And what Alice had been telling both of us about souls. About how souls don't really disappear… They only get lost. And become something dark and sad and pitiful.

So he thought, and don't ask me his reasoning, that if he created a most perfect doll and gave it the rose, it would call Alice's soul back, and everything would go back to the way it was.

His first try happened while we were still in Paris, in that big house full of memories of dead people. He was still mourning and that doll… She was dark like the night, pale like a ghost, and with eyes as red as blood. To me, she looked like a fallen angel, and I couldn't pity her more. Her name was Suigintou, the Mercury Lamp. And for as beautiful she was, she wasn't even near Alice, so my brother didn't even finish her! I put her on that shelf myself… The poor thing."

Laura stopped to wipe tears that had been forming for a while now. Tomoe took the chance to clean the table. When she returned, Laura continued.

"Anyway… Paris was a sad place for us. Too many memories of Alice. So we left the country… And we went to Rome!

Oh, I loved Italy! Such a beautiful place, with it's fountains of sweet water and it's gardens full of colored plants! There was a gentle breeze in the air that always seemed to carry music! Unfortunately, when I lived there, pizza still hadn't been invented. We brought everything in my brother's workshop with us, and that included Suigintou. But she stayed in her box… Anyway, Rome was where my brother designed and made his second attempt at Alice, while looking at canaries outside our window. The doll he'd made this time, Kanaria, the Canary, was like a little ray of sunshine. However, my brother thought, birds didn't care for others. And that doll wouldn't either. So Kanaria went inside her box and we moved away again.

We went to Amsterdam. There were so many flowers there! Sometimes, I just couldn't believe my eyes! It was there that Thomas had a burst of inspiration. Alice had a twin. Me. So maybe, the trick to creating the perfect Alice was to give it a twin! His plan was to create two girls with long brown hair and green eyes, just like us. Of course, things went wrong. For starters, he only had one pair of green eyes left, and for my brother to make eyes… He could take a week to make one! Two weeks to make a pair! In the end, he ended up using a green and a red eye for each, saying that he would change them later. As you can notice, he totally did. Then, there was a day so hot, that staying inside those stone walls of our farm was impossible. So he took his table outside, and kept working there on one of the twins. Only when taking her back inside did he notice her hair had gone various shades lighter. But both Suiseiseki, the Jade Star, and Souseiseki, the Lapis Lazuli Star, managed to get completed. When I asked him why he'd decided on those names, he wasn't able to tell me. I just thought it was plenty of weird, with the box Alice had given me and everything.

But… I was still alive. How could he make two dolls become Alice? So I put them inside their cases and off we went. I don't think we stayed more than two months in Amsterdam. We decided to go back to London, our hometown. I was 13, while my brother was 20. Everyone received us marvelously.

It was there that my brother created his fifth attempt at Alice… Shinku, the Crimson Ruby, a downright tsundere. She would appear mean and snobby, but on the inside she would be gentle and sweet enough to melt your heart.

Of course, Alice wouldn't be that doll either. Alice was gentle and sweet, even on the outside, and she didn't have the power to be mean. So little Shinku went inside her box, and we, tired of the aristocratic society of London, moved once again, this time to a far place in Russia…

We moved to Moscow. It was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever seen! The snow sparkling everywhere made it seem like we were inside a dream! We were covered in fur from head to toe, but I think we were happy, while we were there.

But my brother missed the sun, the light, the laugher and the strawberries… HinaIchigo, the Small Strawberry, was created there, a little girl, childish and lovely, innocent as Alice had always been. However, for as innocent Alice was, she wasn't naïve as that child, and she wasn't childish either! From the moment she'd been born, Alice always seemed so much more mature than any of us…

When I was 15 and Thomas was 22, we moved to Germany. While we were travelling there, I got sick. Both I and Thomas thought it was the same disease that had taken our parents. I had never seen him more scared, and he'd cry and pray day and night. Three months after we arrived to our new house… I got better.

Thomas apologized a thousand times, and I never really understood why… Then, he made his last doll, for he has never made another one ever since.

He looked at me, and saw me as I was at the time. A sad, little girl that had been dragged around Europe on her brother's whim. I think it was only then that he realized I had lost Alice too.

He made me a friend. Not Alice, just a doll, just a girl, just like me, with flaws and imperfections. He named her Kirakishou, the Sparkling Snowdrop Crystal. That was also when we decided to settle in Germany. In was a nice country at the time, and we lived in a large house in a little village. They had a name for it back in those years… Feudalism? Yeah, I think it was something like that.

One of the things Alice had told me about the ruby rose was that if it was broken, each of the pieces could bring a doll alive, just like Alice used to be able to. We both agreed it was the best thing to do, and my brother separated the rose in it's seven petals.

All of the dolls, except Suigintou, still incomplete, were given a petal, and my brother wound five of them. I, myself, wound Kirakishou. Although we now call them by their Japanese names, we used to call them by their German names, which sometimes were really long and weird. Kanarienvogel, Jade Stern, Lapis Lazuli Stern, Reiner Rubin, Kleine Beere and Schöner Schneeblüten Kristall. Suigintou would have been Mercury Lampe, had she been awake.

We were happy. There was music in our house, and flowers in our gardens, and books in our shelves, and strawberries all over the village. Each doll and it's role in our life, and for a little while, everything was okay. You could feel the magic emanating from those six dolls, and I guess a bit of it even seeped inside Suigintou. One day, I went inside the storage room to find her suitcase toppled on the floor, her body fallen out. That was also when I carefully picked her up and put her on a shelf back in my brother's workshop, in hopes he'd finish her one day, for we had a single petal left, waiting…"

Laura took a break, taking a long drink from a glass of water.

"There are demons in this world." she continued "They were people once, who found their home in dark magic. I guess our home gave out strong magical energy too, because not a year had passed when we woke up to find a man sitting in our living room.

When he saw us, his body morphed, and in front of us was a rabbit. You know who I'm talking about. Laplace. That rabbit.

Well, for as happy as we were, my brother still hadn't forgotten Alice in the least. And Laplace loved games. So he proposed a bet against my brother. A bet he wouldn't be able to refuse.

"Shall Rozen win, I'll bring Alice back to life. Shall Rozen lose, Laura will also be called to the other world."

Laplace said he could even choose the game, which made my idiotic brother feel like he was in control, and he took the bet.

Chess was the chosen game, and my brother was spectacularly defeated. Well, he did have my death looming over his head, so he couldn't think straight.

As my brother cried over his stupidity, I was the one who noticed the loop-hole in Laplace's bet.

"You said "Shall Rozen win"" I told him "Well, my name is Rozen too, so I can take you on this bet as well."

Somehow, and sometimes I think this was all part of his plan, I won. So I and Laplace reached an agreement. Well, more like Laplace said his pretty words and I didn't have any choice but to agree. Laplace loved games so much, he decided to create one for the dolls.

The Rozen Maiden would fight against each other to become Alice, trying to steal each other's "Rosae Mysticae", which was the name Laplace gave to those petals. The one who managed to have all seven pieces of rose would become Alice. On the other hand, neither Rozen would be able to die until the Alice Game was over."

"Well" Jun thought "This explains how in the world she's still alive."

"The memories of the Rozen Maiden were modified, for two exceptions. Kirakishou was like if in a safe zone, for she already had a medium. Me. She got to keep all her memories from our time together and with the other Rozen Maiden.

Suigintou was a trickier case. She didn't have a Rosa Mystica, so Laplace couldn't do anything to her! What ended up happening was that her memories of the other dolls were just as the other dolls remembered it, modified by Laplace. Her own memories of herself only hadn't been messed up with.

This was also when my brother began his habit of disappearing and only appearing after everything had been said and done. Dolls fighting to death? Don't expect him. Dolls needing repairs after fighting to death? Oh, look, there he is!

He probably did this out of guilt for his dolls. We both knew that even if a Rozen Maiden managed to destroy all of her sisters, she wouldn't become Alice! Alice would never be able to kill someone, let alone her own sisters! But before Laplace could erase their memories and scatter them out in the world, I opened the box Alice had given me and gave a single stone to each of them. They became their artificial spirits, who would protect them.

Years passed, and I showed no signs of getting older. Both I and Kirakishou had to move every three years or so, or people would start getting suspicious. In every house I'd get, I'd remember to find a place to mount my brother's workshop, so he could come home whenever he felt like it.

He never really did.

One night, in 1436, when I was living in London, something crossed my mind. Something Alice had said, long ago in that park in Paris.

"Every seed has the potential to become a flower."

I didn't understand what it meant. At least, not until I came across Suigintou's Rosa Mystica, still on my brother's workshop. It had somehow morphed. Instead of a petal, it now looked a lot… Clumpier. Like if a seed. That was when I understood what she meant. If I could turn every seed inside them into a fully-fledged flower… They would probably become human. All of them. Neither of them would become Alice, but… She was dead. I had learnt that a long time ago.

Centuries more passed, and I found myself back in London. Everyone I had ever known was long dead, and my family was twenty generations ahead of me. I was almost discovering how to make those seeds grow. One night, I was up late, when I heard noise coming from my brother's workshop. It seemed as though, as time moved forward, Suigintou had been gathering energy. It was now 1803, and she had lived all those years seeing herself in those dark rooms while her sisters were pampered by my brother… This mixture of reality and lies made her a very sad doll. That night, she just crawled to her clothes, and into the mirror. I was baffled. I didn't know what to do! I had seen Shinku and Souseiseki fighting over London a few nights ago, but now I just didn't know what to do anymore!

I was no dollmaker. I wasn't Alice either. I was completely powerless. That was when I realized I needed help.

But my brother was gone, Alice was dead… Then I remembered. A guy my brother had taken as his apprentice when we were in Paris… Maybe… Maybe he knew something!

Of course, a few minutes after remembering this I remembered he was probably dead by then. But when I went out, the next morning, I saw him. My heart filled with hope, until I saw who was by his side. Laplace. Of course.

When I returned home that night, I saw my brother. Just like me, he hadn't change a bit. He was entering the same mirror Suigintou had, and had the last Rosa Mystica clutched in his hand. That was when Suigintou received it, and became a true Rozen Maiden. Of course, all she wanted to do was see her "Father"… I waited for a fortnight in front of that mirror, but my brother didn't reappear. However, I had learnt something. Now that Suigintou had her Rosa Mystica as well, the only thing stopping the Alice Game from really starting was Kirakishou.

So we both ran away, across the Ocean, to a small group of islands… Japan. We stayed in Hokkaido for years, hiding. Until Kirakishou told me one day that HinaIchigo had been wound, in a small town in Kanto. We quickly came here as well, waiting for more news.

One day, I woke up and my brother was downstairs. Before I could say anything to him, he had once again entered the mirror and was gone. He left a box on the counter. Inside was Suigintou, finally complete.

I took her to a church and waited in the shadows. A girl came, calling out for an angel to hear. Apparently, Suigintou did, and a medium bond was formed. That same night, me and Kirakishou met Barasuishou. Enju had created her based on my brother's designs for Kirakishou. How he got them, I have no idea, but I'd bet on Laplace.

Anyway, as you two know, there was a great battle and Barasuishou was destroyed, along with Enju. And of course, after the battle, my useless brother appeared, repaired the dolls, said something witty and went somewhere again.

And so, I decided this was the right time for me to appear. All the dolls are wound, and Souseiseki and HinaIchigo have lost their Rosae Mysticae. And for as much as I'd like to just hand those two pretty little stones to you, the world doesn't work like that."

"Wait, so you mean you can wake them up!" asked Jun.

"I thought I'd just said I can't! The Rosae Mysticae have a will of themselves! They have rules and laws! I can't do anything." Laura paused for a bit. "But that doesn't mean nothing can be done. Souseiseki and HinaIchigo… They will just have to earn their Rosae Mysticae back."


	5. Diary

Me inspired = Long chapters

Yup, I'm inspired.

* * *

" No. "

" But…"

" I said no, Jun. I don't trust that girl. We don't know if what she said is true, we don't even know if she truly is Kirakishou's medium. And, if she does have Souseiseki's and Hinaichigo's Rosa Myatica, she is our enemy. "

" What? Shinku, this doesn't look like you! Why are you so afraid of even go there to talk to her? "

" It might be a trap. Kirakishou is one of the strongest dolls, if we went there alone, it would be dangerous. "

" But you just said that we didn't even know if she really was Kirakishou's medium... "

" Jun, I don't trust her. I never heard anything about it... There is nothing like what girl said in my memories. According to what you said, there was a period in which we lived with her and Father. I don't remember any of that! "

" As I said, Laplace modified your memories! "

" I just think it's too fishy! She might be Laplace's ally! They are probably just trying to trick us! Besides... You promised that you would help me to find a way to wake them up! To help me, not to believe what a girl you just met told you! "

" Shinku... Could it be that you're... Jealous? "

The doll said nothing, but Jun could see her cheeks starting to blush.

" Shinku... Just why are you jealous? "

" I'm not jealous... I just don't trust her. We aren't going anywhere. "

And then she hair-slapped Jun.

" And don't ever tell me that I'm jealous ever again. "

Jun sighed and took a piece of paper out of his pocket.

" Laura said... "

" Stop talking about her. "

" Laura said that if you didn't believe her, I should give this to you. Here, it's just a piece of paper, I carried it around all the day, it can't possibly be harmful. "

Shinku reluctantly grabbed it.

" Did you read it? "

" I tried. "

" What?"

" Just unfold it. "

Shinku unfolded it.

" Oh. German. "

" So… What does it say? "

" It says... Do you remember how you learnt to read and write? "

" Huh? Why would she... Shinku? "

Shinku was frozen. How did she know how to read and write?

" Jun, open the door. "

" What is goi... "

" Just do it, Jun! "

As soon as he opened the door, Shinku ran downstairs and entered the living room.

" Suiseiseki! Do you remember how you learnt how to read? "

" Hum... Yeah, Grandpa thought me and Souseiseki how to read and write Japanese desu~... But why do you need to know... Hey, wait Shinku desu~! "

Shinku opened the door to the garden.

" Kanaria! I know you're there somewhere! "

Kanaria appeared from behind a bush.

" How did you know kashira~? "

" Kanaria, do you remember how you learnt how to read? "

" Well, of course I do. Micchan thought me Japanese kashira~... Hey, Shinku, what's going on, where are you going? "

" Jun, give that phone! "

" What, why would I... AUCH! Okay, okay, here... "

" Hello, could you connect me to Megu Kakizaki's room please? Thank you... Megu, is Suigintou there? "

Jun was pretty surprised. Something serious was going on if she was trying to talk to Suigintou.

" Suigintou? I must know one thing, do you know how to read? "

" What the hell of a question is that? "

" Just answer! "

" No, I don't. Not one single language, even thought we've been worldwide... Why... Hey, don't hung up on me! "

Tomoe, who was in the kitchen with Nori, also said:

" I was teaching Hinaichigo how to read and write... I don't know if it helps you... "

" Shinku, what happened? " Jun was really starting to worry.

" Jun... Everyone either remembers how they learnt how to read and write, or doesn't know how to read and write... And I'm the only one who knows how to read German, even thought we all can speak it. But, even thought I can speak Japanese, I can't read it... Who taught me German? Why can't I remember? Jun! Explain it to me! "

Jun picked her up.

" Shinku... Maybe she did. Maybe that was why she wanted you to read that... Because she knew that you wouldn't remember who had taught you... "

Jun carried her to his room and put her down on the bed. She picked up the paper again.

" Jun... Get me this book. "

" Book? What book? "

She gave her the paper. Under the message was the title of a book.

" Hum, it's a German book... It might be hard to find... "

" Get me that book. "

Jun sighed.

" I'm going, but I don't think that I'll find it in the library. "

Shinku just went to her box.

Jun left the room and went downstairs.

" Nori, Tomoe, I'll be right back! "

Jun left the house, heading to the public library. Suddenly, he stopped in front of a shop.

" Maybe... It's worth a shot... "

He entered the shop, which had quite some customers around.

" Oh, an Italian doll... I know, the sizes are different, Italian dolls are smaller, so it's hard to find clothes that fit them. Don't worry, I think I have just the perfect thing for you. "

Jun watched as Laura chose a small dress and handed it to a customer. The woman seemed very pleased... Too much pleased, he'd say...

" Kya! She will love it! Aw, this shop is exactly the thing that this town neede! Aw, I can just imagine Kanaria with this dress, she'll look so cute! "

" Kanaria? " asked Laura, automatically looking at the woman's left hand. She was indeed Kanaria's medium, Mitsu.

" Yes, she is my favorite... She is a very special doll, you know? "

" Oh... I know... What do you think of giving this to her? "

Laura went to the back of the shop, coming out five minutes later with a small box on her hands.

" Free of charge. Now go, she must be missing you. "

Mitsu opened the box.

" A violin, how did you know... Well, I guess some people are good in what they are good, right? "

She paid for the dress and left, humming a happy melody.

Even thought she noticed Jun, the costumers were constantly asking for her attention, so she couldn't talk to him.

Jun looked at the fireplace. Today, the doll was wearing different clothing, and her hair was loose, so you could see a rose in the place of her right eye. When we got near to her, she turned her head, looking at him with her yellow eye. She was holding the small box in her hands. Jun wondered what was inside it.

" Don't worry, if you brush her hair with this hairbrush, it'll grow, it'll be just like if your sister had never touched it. "

" Thank you so so much! "

Laura sighed.

" Who knew that were so many doll lovers in this town, huh? So, Jun, what are you here for? "

" The book that was in Shinku's note. I first thought to go to the public library, but then I thought that you should have it. "

" Kirakishou. Could you get that book please? "

The doll put the little box down and she jumped to the ground, going upstairs.

" Jun... Do you believe me? "

" What? "

" Do you believe in what I told you? Do you believe that I want to help you? Do you believe that Laplace is a evil demon that just wants to get us killed? "

" I guess... "

" Jun... Do you believe me? "

" Well... When I look into your eyes, I can see you aren't lying, but... "

" But? "

" I also believed that Enju was a good guy... And Shinku doesn't believe you... "

" So you are afraid that you might be trusting the wrong person again... Jun, give me that box. "

Jun picked up the small box that Kirakishou was always holding and gave it to Laura, who opened it. Inside of it were two red stones, shining like the sun...

" Rosa Mystica... So you do have them! "

" Yes. But I can't just hand them to you. When my brother gave the Rosa Mystica back to Shinku, Suigintou, Suiseiseki and Kanaria, it was easy, they had been stolen by a fake doll... But... I'm the only one who is able to return these to Souseiseki and Hinaichigo... Because... They were stolen by Rozen Maidens. To return them means to suffer Laplace's curse. "

" What does that mean? " Jun asked as Kirakishou returned with a very old German book and Laura closed the box.

" It means... " she said, handing him the book " That in order for them to retrieve, a Rozen shall suffer. And... As you can see, my brother did not like that idea... That's why you need me. I'm the last Rozen. I shall revive the most painfull memories of my life, I shall face all my fears, I shall face the truth in my heart. Souseiseki and Hinaichigo will have to do it as well. It's called " The Trial ". First, comes the Trial of Wind... We'll have to face our worst memories ever... Then, the Trial of Fire, in which we must overcome our fears... The Trial of Earth will trick us, tempt us... Show us our desires... And we shall say no. Last, the Trial of Water... We must face our true selves... If we suceed... They will retrieve their Rosa Mystica. "

" But, I don't get it..." Jun was confused " Why must you pass all the Trials as well? "

" That's the only way. Now go. Shinku is waiting for you... "

" Just one more question. "

She started to push him outside, and he was already outside the shop when he finished his question.

" Why are you going that far to save two dolls lives? Even your brother, the mighty Father that all them admire so much wouldn't do it. Why are you doing it? "

" See you later Jun." she said, closing the door, leaving the boy wondering what could be the meaning of all that.

He couldn't stop thinking about it as he was going home.

" I'm home! " he yelled, going directly to his room

" Shinku? Are you here? "

He opened her box, and there she was.

" Here... I brought you the book. "

Shinku picked it up.

" This book... " she opened it " Where did you find it? "

" I thought that an old German book would be hard to find on the public library, so I asked Laura about it. Why? "

" Because this Jun, isn't a book. It is a diary. A very, very old diary... Full with my handwriting. "

" What? "

" Jun, I don't remember writing this. But this is clearly my handwriting... And... When I read it, I feel something strange... Like if I'm remembering something... Jun, let's go to that shop. Maybe what that girl says is true after all... "

Shinku read the last page again. It had written " She is worried about something. I just know it... This morning, she told me to hide this diary inside Kirakishou suitcase. That's what I'm going to do right now... But... Just in case, if something ever happens... I mean, she and her brother are in the living room... According to Souseiseki, Father just lost a chess game against that rabbit... Now Laura is playing. Souseiseki is telling me hurry up and hide this. Well, just in case... If someone can save the Rozen Maidens, Laura is that person. "

After reading that, Shinku felt something weird... She was is a room that looked familiar, but that she had never seen before... She could hear Souseiseki telling her to hurry up... She was putting her diary inside a box, and she knew that it was Kirakishou's... And then, in the exact moment that she closed the suitcase... Darkness... And a voice.

" Win the Alice Game... Defeat the other Rozen Maidens... Become Alice... Fill that hole in your chest with your Father's love... "

Then, she opened her eyes. She was in Jun's room again.

" Shinku! Shinku! "

" Jun... "

" Shinku, are you okay? What happened? "

" Jun... We were told that this hole in our chests was the lack of Father's love... But... It wasn't it... Jun, I want my memories back. And Laplace is the one who has them. You were right... We can trust that girl... Now let's go. Souseiseki and Hinaichigo must be tired of being asleep by now... "


	6. The Trial of Wind

See... I told you I would continue this soon...

Still... I'm really sorry for not updating this earlier...

But, thanks to all your lovely reviews, I decided to continue!

Cause I love you girls! (and guys, maybe there's one or two reading this) *-*

* * *

"So… Are we all here?"

"I think so desu~..."

"Ok... Suigintou, the Mercury Lamp, created in Paris?"

The gothic doll, sitting on the window raised her hand.

"I still don't believe half of this crap, but I'm curious..."

"Kanaria, the Canary Bird, created in Rome?"

Sitting on the desk, the small doll also raised her hand.

"I'm here kashira~!"

"Suiseiseki, the Jade Star, born in Amsterdam?"

Standing still, right next to her sleeping sister, she raised her hand.

"I really hope this works desu~... Whatever this is..."

"Souseiseki, the Lapis Lazuli Star, is here... Shinku, the Crimson Ruby, born in England?"

Being carried by Jun, she also raised her hand.

"Yes, I'm here."

"Hinaichigo is here... And..." the girl looked to the doll next to her "Kirakishou is as well... So we may now start The Trial..."

Slowly, she opened the small box that she was carrying, and, really carefully, like if she was handing an explosive, she grabbed one of the Rosa Mystica... With her other hand, she grabbed the other.

"I, the sister of Alice Rozen, the Angel on Earth, and of Thomas Rozen, the Dollmaker, command both of you, seeds of the magical plant, to return to your former owners."

Both the Rosa Mystica flew over them, stopping above Hinaichigo's and Souseiseki's bodys.

"To allow your entrance, we shall pass The Trial."

Something started to gain shape above their heads. It was a dream door.

"A dream door? Whose dream is opening desu~?"

"Please allow me to enter the dream all the seeds carry within themselves. Please allow me to start The Trial and help these lost souls to find their way home. Seeds of the magical plant that gives us all life... Allow The Trial to begin."

Then she turned to the others.

"Suiseiseki, you won't be able to enter this dream. But you'll be able to watch it... Just like a movie, you'll all be able to see what's happening inside this dream... This dream isn't a normal dream. I don't have time to explain right now, but this is like the Rosa Mystica dream... It is The Trial..."

Then she turned to Jun.

"Jun, if I don't come back... Take care of Kirakishou..."

And she jumped into the dream door, which immediately turned into some sort of window...

Now they all could see what was happening... But they could only see, inside of that window... Sky...

A bright blue sky, too perfect to be real... And then, she appeared. Laura looked like she was praying in the middle of that sky.

"Suiseiseki, can't we hear what she's saying?" Jun asked. He really wanted to know what Laura was whispering.

"Hum, let me see desu~... Amethyst Dream!" her spirit appeared next to her "Can you? Oh, thank you desu~"

They started to hear everything she was saying.

"Now... Come to this world... Let The Trial... Begin!"

Next to her appeared Hinaichigo and Souseiseki... And they were... Awake.

"Sou...Souseiseki!" yelled Suiseiseki, tears flowing from her eyes.

"Hum... What's happening? Where am I?" Souseiseki looked around "Who are you?"

"Souseiseki!" yelled Hinaichigo "You're awake! And... I'm awake too! How's that possible?"

"Yeah... Now that I think about it... I don't feel the Rosa Mystica inside me... Yet I'm awake... How in this world is that possible... And... Where are we? When are we? And who are you?"

Laura looked at her.

"Memories are like the wind... Always moving... And... Even thought sometimes you can't notice the wind... Like now, for example... The wind is there... Memories... Are just the same... Even thought you can't think about them, you actually remember... Don't worry... This is The Trial of Wind... The memories will start flowing in no time... Yes... Because how would be able to keep on living if you can't even face your own past and acept it?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"See for yourself." She said, and she moved her hand. Out of nowhere, the wind started to blow, and images started to appear on the sky.

When Souseiseki saw them, she gasped... The first one was... Something that had happened a long, long time ago... She was in a room with Suiseiseki... They were talking about something... That didn't matter...

"Souseiseki... I've been thinking desu~..." Suiseiseki was saying.

"About what?"

"Well... The... The Alice Game desu~..."

"When aren't we thinking about it?"

"But... But... I realized something..."

"What?"

Watching that memory from behind the window, Suiseiseki knew what she was going to say... And now she knew what Laura meant with "face your own past"...

"I... I love you Souseiseki desu~!" Suiseiseki from the memory said, throwing her arms around her twin sister, crying.

Souseiseki, floating on the sky wanted to cover her eyes, to stop listening, to stop watching...

"Stop it... Stop it!" she whispered...

Jun was wondering why was Souseiseki so disturbed... Until he saw what she did in that past memory...

As Suiseiseki was clinging to her, like if holding for her own life, Souseiseki took a step backwards and slapped her.

"Don't ever talk to me like that again! We might be sisters, we might even be twins, but we both know that in the end one of us is going to kill the other! So don't talk like if there is another way to become Alice, don't talk like that! Suiseiseki..."

Souseiseki covered her ears, not wanting to hear what she had said so many years ago once again...

"I hate you!" she yelled to her twin sister.

That memory vanished, and Souseiseki hugged herself, trembling.

"Suiseiseki... I'm sorry... I never really mean that... I just didn't want to face the truth... Suiseiseki..."

"You had that on your mind all the time, didn't you? Everytime you saw your twin sister, you remember how she looked shattered that time you yelled at her, saying that you hated her... So you hide that, deep down on your memories... But still... You were never able to say sorry to her... Now... Souseiseki... Centuries might have gone by, but you still feel as guilty as you felt the day you yelled at her... You made a mistake... You didn't told her your true feelings... But... What is in the past in actually in the past... She already forgave you a long time ago... I believe that she had already forgetten about this... Don't you think that it's time to... Forgive yourself as well?"

Souseiseki looked shattered.

"I... I never meant what I said there... I've always loved my sister... I... I never apologized to her... Not even after all this time..."

"Hey... If you stay here forever, buried inside all of your memories... You'll never even see her again... Don't you think that it's time to... Forgive yourself?"

Souseiseki lifted her head, looking right into Laura's gentle eyes.

"May... Maybe you're right... And... I don't want to see just Suiseiseki, I want to see everyone again..."

"That's the spi..." a new memory was appearing in the sky. This time, Souseiseki did not recongnize it, nor did anyone behind the window. Well, Kirakishou did, but she only sighed.

It was a boy. He had red hair and brown eyes. But, nothing really special about him.

"Hey, don't run ahead! You know I'm slow!" a girl appeared next to him. It was Laura.

"Sorry, I got carried away... Come with me, I want to show you a special place!" he said, getting hold of her hand. She blushed.

The real Laura, on the other hand, looked horrified.

But the memory kept on going...

It showed images after images... Kisses, embraces, even some more... naughty things... It was all with that boy and Laura...

Suddenly, her voice started to say something, even if none of the Lauras were speaking...

"It was all so fast... Five years... It looked like a second..."

You could now see a memory were it shown Laura, looking exactly the same she had looked in all the other memories, looking exactly the same that she was looking now. The boy had grown.

"You... You couldn't possibly understand... I... I must go!"

"Then I'll go with you!"

"Please... Please, let me go... I... I'll always love you... But... You must find someone else!"

She was retreating, but she tripped on her skirt and she fell backwards. The boy got closer to her... He was looking at her.

"The day I met you... Five years ago... You also tripped backwards... You had that exact same face... You look just like you did, you know? Wait... No... You truly haven't changed... How is that possible..."

"That was what I was trying to tell you... We can't be together... Because I'm frozen in time... I'm... Just like a doll..."

And she ran away... The memory fade...

"I... I saw him getting married... I was there when he had his first child, when his parents died... When he died... Then I ran away, to another town... But... I'll always love him..." Laura definitely wasn't okay.

"Laura, why are you going trough this trial as well? Aren't we the ones who should be being tested nano~?" asked Hinaichigo

Laura was still hugging herself, but she looked to Hinaichigo.

"How do you know my name?"

"Hum... I don't know nano~... I just knew it... Like if I've met you before... A long time ago... I... I remember being with you in a kitchen... And... You were making unyu! That was the first time I ate unyu nano~!"

"Oh... Ichigo Daifuku... You couldn't pronouce it, so you just said unyu... You still have some memories left... Probably you remember me as well, right Souseiseki?" Laura looked like she was recovering from the shock.

"Laura... There is a weird thing in my mind, but it doesn't make sense... I... I had long hair, but straight, unlike Suiseiseki, and I was complaining because I didn't like it to be long..."

"Oh, I remember... You weren't originally planned to have short hair, you know? Since you were twins and all... You didn't wear shorts either... Your clothes were the same as your sister's, just that blue instead of green... One day, you tripped on your dress and you were truly mad. So you decided to become a tomboy... I cut your hair and I sew you new clothes... I'm surprised that that is what you remember..."

They stood there for some minutes, waiting for HinaIchigo's trial to begin.

"Why isn't anything happening?" asked Kanaria on the other side of the window.

"I... I'm not sure.. But I think that HinaIchigo doesn't have anything that horrible in her past... Afterall, she is very childish and innocent..." said Kirakishou in her soft voice.

Probably "The Trial" thought that as well, since the wind started blowing again... And they started to fall.

Laura didn't look surprised. On the other hand, Souseiseki and HinaIchigo were screaming loud enough to be heard outside the shop.

The window turned black with smoke.

The two dolls and the girl were standing on a floating rock... And they were sorrounded by lava.

"Welcome..." Laura said, her voice looking tired "To the Trial of Fire."


	7. The Trial of Fire

"The Trial of Fire nano~?" asked HinaIchigo.

"Yes, Ichigo-chan... Ichigo-chan, what is your biggest fear?"

"I don't want to lose Tomoe ever again nano~!"

And imediate answer.

"What about you, Souseiseki?"

"I... I would be very sad if I had to part from my sister."

"That's right. Everyone has the fear of losing someone... Are you ready to face that fear?"

The two dolls looked at the girl.

"What do you mean?" asked Souseiseki.

"If you saw Suiseiseki dying right now, you would know it was a trick. So, in this Trial, you must jump into that lake of lava. Doing so, you'll forget that you are on this Trial, and you will believe that what is happening is real. But don't worry... There will be clues that what is happening isn't real. You'll just have to look beyond the pain. And you'll be able to walk on this lava, and you'll be able to reach that door over there. And proceed."

"What about you nano~?" asked HinaIchigo.

"I must go as well. It is my fate as a Rozen. Actually, when you take in account that I'm not married, I'm a Rozen Maiden just as you girls are... Alice was a Rozen Maiden as well... Probably this isn't a good time to be thinking about Alice, right? We must go one at a turn. Do you want me to go first or..."

"I'll go first nano~!"

And before anyone could stop her, HinaIchigo jumped into the lava pond.

* * *

**HinaIchigo's POV**

"I really like it when you brush my hair nano~"

"I do it because I love you."

I really love Tomoe nano~. She is sweet and she gives me unyu~... And she always protects me, and she wasn't mad at me, even after all that Alice Game incident nano~...

"I hope I can be with Tomoe forever nano~"

"You will... I won't go anywhere without, ever again!"

_**[ "Since when is Tomoe that cheery?" asked Jun. ]**_

_**[ "She isn't. That is probably one of the tricks Laura mentioned, stupid Chibi-Human."]**_

_**["Shut up, you sadistic doll."]**_

Tehehee~~~ Tomoe is done with brushing my hair... I wonder what'll do today nano~.

"So, HinaIchigo, what do you think if today we go to the park?"

"Let's go, let's go!"

(...)

Neeh, I really like being outside. It's so beautiful... And Tomoe's with me nano~...

"Tomoe?"

"Humn?"

"I'm really happy to be with you."

"I'm also very ha..."

**_["Oh crap, is that going to happen?" ]_**

**_["Oh no, Chibi-Human! HinaIchigo... She will never understand that this is just a ilusion!"]_**

**_["There is a car. There is Tomoe. The Trial is about HinaIchigo losing Tomoe. Could you please be less noisy?"]_**

**_["But Shinku..."]_**

**_["It is not real, Jun. Tomoe is here with us."]_**

**_["Humn... Shinku is right, I'm here. Even thought is kind of weird to be watching myself on that window..."]_**

**_["COULD YOU ALL SHUT UP, I'M TRYING TO SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING!"]_**

**_["...Sorry Suigintou." All of the talking ones said.]_**

Something is wrong nano~.

This isn't happening nano~.

This CAN'T be happening nano~.

"Tomoe? Tomoe?"

"Tomoe... Neh, Tomoe... Why aren't you moving?"

"Didn't you just tell me that we would be together forever?"

"Why aren't you answering?"

"Are you... Dead?"

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

No.

Why isn't anyone coming to help nano~? Wasn't anyone inside that car nano~?

"HEY! HEY! HELP! SOMEONE HELP NANO~!"

Why isn't anyone noticing a moving doll nano~! I tought people thought that dolls that move and talk were weird nano~!

"TOMOE! TOMOE! TOMOE! YOU PROMISED NANO~! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T NEVER LEAVE ME! YOU WERE... SO HAPPY ANO~! YOU DIDN'T EVEN LOOK LIKE YOU, SO HAPPY NANO~..."

Tomoe shouldn't die nano~.

Tomoe shouldn't be cheery nano~.

People should notice a moving and talking doll nano~.

This world... Is weird nano~.

Is this even the real world nano~? A world without Tomoe doesn't seem real nano~.

Maybe this is all a dream, nano~.

Or a trial.

"WAIT, A TRIAL NANO~!"

The Trial... The Trial... The Trial...

What is The Trial?

Tomoe isn't really dead, right nano~?

Suddenly... This world seems really fake. It is just too bright.

"Hey, Trial-sama... This isn't real nano~"

**End of HinaIchigo's POV

* * *

**

"Wait, there she is!"

Laura extended her arm to the swimming doll.

"Laura! I remember! This is The Trial! We are trying to recover our Rosa Mystica!"

Laura smiled gently as she picked HinaIchigo.

"You are a very good girl, you... Oh crap. I didn't know _this _would happen."

"JUN, DON'T LOOK!"

Three dolls jumped on Jun, making him fall backwards.

"What!"

"You perverted Chibi-Human! You were trying to see HinaIchigo without clothes!"

"What the hell! Why I would I want to do that?"

As he was wondering why would he like to see a doll without clothes, he thought about Shinku... Without clothes.

"SEE, YOU ARE BLUSHING YOU PERVERTED CHIBI-HUMAN!"

"NO, I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT HINAICHIGO WITHOUT CLOTHES!"

"THEN WHAT WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT!"

"Humn... Guys... HinaIchigo has clothes on already, don't you want to see what's going to happen?"

"Yeah, this should do it." Laura said.

She had ripped of a bit of her skirt... Quite a bit, actually, and she a made something to cover HinaIchigo's body.

"So... We shall undress, before we enter this place, right?" asked Souseiseki.

"Yeah, otherwise, you clothes will be burnt."

"Okay, I'll go next, then..."

"DON'T LOOK JUN!"

This time, Shinku ended up sitting on Jun's chest, which was sort of... Awkward, because she was facing him, and her lips were really close to his.

"Guys... Souseiseki already jumped into the lava..." Tomoe told them.

But this time, the scene was still focused on Laura and HinaIchigo.

"Nhe, Laura, who was that boy in your memories nano~?"

"How stupid can she be?" asked Suigintou, however, while munching on popcorn.

"What! When the hell did she get that? If she has popcorn, I want some as well, damnit!" said Jun.

"Whatever... Really, either she is really stupid or really evil and smart. I'm going for the first one. _Om nom nom nom_."

Laura looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Well... He was... My boyfriend... A very, very long time ago."

"What happened to him nano~?"

"Well... He moved along time... I just... Couldn't be with him. He needed someone he could marry. Someone who he could have children with. Yeah, we were the same age when we met. But... _*sigh*_"

"So, you never saw him again?"

"Oh, no... I was there in the church when he got married. I saw his first son borning. And... When he got old... When he got old, he was very rich, and a very powerful man. I was always changing name and job, so people wouldn't think anything weird about me. One day, I heard in the shop I was working, that the man was dying. And his children didn't know what to do, since what he was asking for was impossible."

"What was him asking for?"

"He showed them a old painting of him with... Me. And he told his sons and daughters that he wanted to see the girl in the painting once again before he died. Of course they thought that I would be a old lady by then... I went to his house. I will never forget the look in the face of his youngest daughter when she saw me. I think she was the only one who understood that I wasn't just "being nice" and "pretending to be that girl" since I looked so much like her. She was the only one allowed to stay in the room while her father was talking to me...

* * *

"You are... So... Different."

"No, I'm not different, my sweet Laura. I'm old. I'm just a old man."

"No, you're not! I'll always remember those five years! You..."

"I'm old. And I'm dying. But, look at you. You are exactly the same. Amber, did she trip while she was climbing the stairs?"

His daughter was really surprised.

"How... How do you know that, father?"

"Oh Laura... My sweet Laura... You really are yourself."

"I was always watching over you! When you got married... When your first son was born... When all your children were born, actually. And... Now you called me."

"So it wasn't my imagination... You really were there. Oh Laura... I wish you hadn't this curse upon you. I wish we had the chance..."

"Someday. I'm sure that... That someday I'll see you again! One day... We will run in some field like we used to, and I'll trip and fall, and you'll help me up..."

"So, you believe that people reincarnate?"

"I must believe! I must believe that I'll meet you again, someday, with your flashing red hair, your kind smile, your intelligence and gentleness..."

"I will never forget you, in this life or in another."

She softly kissed him on the forehead before turning to Amber, his daughter.

"I'm not fake. You are his daughter, so you aren't stupid. But... Please, I would prefer that you didn't tell this to anyone. I'm frozen in time... But I have a mission to fulfil."

"Of course... But, I think it would be better for you if you left this town, or even German..."

"Thank you for your kindness."

* * *

"... That was pretty much how it happened. I left German after that, and moved to England, where Shinku and Souseiseki were..."

"That is a sad story nano~"

"Yeah... But I'm sure I'll see him again. Someday."

Tomoe was wiping the tears that had formed in her eyes. Along with Shinku. And Suiseiseki. And Kanaria. And Jun.

Kirakishou returned from the kitchen, a bowl full of popcorns on her head.

"Here." she said, handing the bowl to Jun.

"Oh, thanks."

Laura was looking up, seeming lost in thoughts. HinaIchigo was looking to the lava.

_Splash!_

"JUN, DON'T..."

But Jun was already facing the other way.

"So, how was it?" asked Laura while handing Souseiseki her clothes.

"Horrible and I never want to do it again."

"So... I guess it is my turn now, right?"

She got closer to the edge of the rock, and before she could start removing her clothes...

"Kyya!"

Kanaria looked to Kirakishou.

"Did she just... Trip and fall into the lava pond kashira~?"

"Yes... Why must you always do that, Laura?"

"Damnit, what is wrong with this window? All I can see is Souseiseki and Chibi-Ichigo, I want to see what's Laura's biggest fear!" yelled Suiseiseki.

"Kirakishou... Have you always been with Laura, all of these years?"

"Of course. We were everything the other had. We had lost our sisters... We always supported eachother, no matter how hard it was to keep going. The only time I wasn't with her was during the Alice Game. I tried to talk to Laplace... In the end, I was able to recover the seeds... But... I still think I should have done something more..."

"Why do you keep calling "seeds" to the Rosa Mystica? Laura said something about the dolls becoming human, but did she really mean it that way?"

"Yes."

"But how..."

"I do not know. Laura probably doesn't know either."

Before Jun could ask any more questions, there was something happening on the window.

"HOLY SHIT!"

"GAHH, JUN!"

Suigintou grabbed her popcorns and moved to another shelf to avoid whatever was happening on the floor.

_"I really should erase that image from my mind, or someone will kill me."_ Jun thought.

"Well... This didn't go that well, right?" asked Laura.

"Did you do it? Did you do it nano~?"

"Yes! So now we can go to the next Trial! Almost there, girls!"

"Jun... I suggest you leave the room until Laura gets some clothes."

"Shinku... For once, I agree with you."

* * *

**Me + Popcorns = Epic long chapter yay. **

**So, what do you think? Does it suck? It is stupid? Did I ruin it? Is there too much Laura in it? ^^" **

**I... Hope you liked it...  
**


	8. I'm Sorry

Ok... I'm a horrible person for not posting anything for the past months, but... Hey, I finally posted this!

Since people thought that Laura was getting to much screen time, here's some Jun. And, as you'll probably guess after reading this chapter, the next chapter will be pretty much Jun/Shinku centered.

Sorry that this chapter is small ^^"

As usual, if there is anything you don't like about how the story is going, please tell me! My biggest wish is to improve so that I can pleasure the fans of Rozen Maiden (and Digimon, and CCS, and Homestuck, and Vocaloid...)

I hope you like this!

Carol~~~~

* * *

It wasn't happily that Jun left the room, moving to what once had been Enju's workplace. He thought of doing some snooping around, just to see if he could find any more information on that mysterious girl.

But where would he start? The room was a mess of dresses, brushes, accessories, and everything in little scale. Fitted for dolls.

Also, who would even hide something in there? If there was something important to be found about Laura, it would probably be in her room or something like that.

Now that he thought about it, where the hell did she sleep? And eat? Where was even the bathroom? Kirakishou's box? The building was two stories high, but he saw no stairs whatsoever.

Then he heard two pairs of tapping feet behind him. He could hear the dolls' and Tomoe's exclamations, so he guessed that the Trial of… Earth, wasn't it? was being pretty interesting. Who would not want to see that?

He turned around as the dolls approached him, and wasn't that surprised when he saw Shinku. But he was kind of startled when he saw Kirakishou right behind her, and completely astonished when the seventh doll walked past him and pointed to the wall.

Jun, with Shinku behind him, walked to the wall, which was, after a closer inspection, a door. A sliding door. He pushed it open, and behind it, he saw… Stairs.

"Oh. Thanks, I was looking for this, wait, how did you know I was looking for this?"

"I didn't. I simply came to get more popcorn. Suigintou's getting kind of crabby…" the doll eyed him suspiciously. "Why were you looking for this?"

The blonde doll also eyed him. Jun thought that he'd better make up a nice excuse. Quickly.

"I… I was bored, so I was thinking if there wouldn't be something to do around here…"

Neither of the dolls were convinced, but they simply began to walk up the stairs, followed by Jun, now wondering why Shinku was even there.

When he reached the top of the staircase, he was in a little, nice, cute living room, without a television and with a lot of books. He was surprised at the number of languages. German, French, English, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Italian… That reminded him of how old Laura really was. A few centuries. Even though she was actually still fifteen.

He followed Kirakishou into the little kitchen, where she made some more popcorn for Suigintou. Then, the pink-haired doll left the kitchen, going back to the main floor where the others were.

That left Jun and Shinku.

Shinku was looking down, looking at the same time mad and sad… Jun couldn't say which feeling that was…

"Jun." she said, still looking at the floor. "I… I am sorry."

The boy was taken aback. Shinku was apologizing. So that was what it was. She was… embarrassed.

"I… I made a mistake when I said that we shouldn't trust that girl. She is undoubtedly a Rozen, and she wants to help us as well. I… I should've trusted you. I'm sorry."

Jun kneeled, looking at the doll.

"You know… You don't have to make everything so dramatic. Everything's okay, and Souseiseki and HinaIchigo are going to wake up soon…"

"Of course. Now… Jun…"

"Yes?" he answered kindly, knowing that she was in one of her cute moments.

"Prepare me a cup of tea, servant."

And then again, maybe not.

"What? Do I look like you servant! This isn't even my house, why would I even… AUCH! Don't hair slap me!"

As he got up, rubbing his cheek, Shinku left the kitchen, probably going back downstairs to watch The Trial.

Jun didn't gave second thought to the tea. If Shinku wanted it so much, she could come and do it herself. He had more important things to do.

He hurried out of the kitchen, back into the living room, and thought about where to look for information about that girl and pre-Alice Game life of the Rozen Maiden.

"Maybe in her room..." he thought, opening the door and entering.

It was quite a simple room, not unlike his sister's, but with some things that you wouldn't find anywhere else.

Like the freaking huge family portrait hanging above the bed. That was the first thing Jun looked at. There were five people on it, almost all looking very distinguished. There was a woman kind of resembling Laura, but with a much more serene and severe look, even though she still looked kind. There was a man, tall and proud, with a well-shaped beard, who looked like if he was enjoying a private joke inside himself.

Then there was the boy. The dollmaker. The guy that caused Jun's life to be upside down one day. He was smiling shyly, his blonde hair partially over his blue eyes. He probably had girls all over him when... Oh wait, he probably still had tons of girls after him.

There were also the two girls. Identical as two drops of water, yet, Jun could pinpoint which was Alice and which was Laura without much thought.

The same long, brown hair, the same big, green eyes, the same cute little smile and even the same clothes... But Alice had this aura around her, like if nothing in the world could bother her or make her sad. Laura just looked like if she thought that she had better stuff to do than smile all day.

Jun thought about picking up the painting to check the back, but the thing was huge! Maybe on some other time...

He was looking around the room when he spotted something weird. In her dresser, all the drawers had knobs, and when he opened them, he saw nothing but clothes (he quickly closed those, it would be hell if Shinku caught him looking at her underwear). But one of the drawers hadn't a knob, but something that looked like a keyhole in a really weird shape.

Looking at it more closely, it was shaped like a rose... On the inside. Like if to open the drawer, one was supposed to insert a tiny little rose in there...

That drawer plainly screamed "Rozen Maiden Stuff Here!", but Jun had no idea about... Oh. Could it be THAT simple?

Carefully, he inserted his ring of the hole, and moved backwards. The drawer opened.

And inside...

There was a empty bottle, it's cap the same rose that was on the ring.

There was a thick book, without a title and looking older than Jun, probably older than Laura or the Rozen Maiden.

There was a enormous piece of fabric, white, with the same symbol, the rose, all over it.

There was a locket, with some German words engraved on the back, looking quite younger than the book, bottle and fabric.

And there was the object he picked up, another book, this one less thick and in Japanese. He sat down and started reading, not noticing as his surrodings started to look fuzzy and not noticing as the book began to trap him.

In another dimension, Laura watched as Souseiseki finally came out of the woods, when she felt a sudden pain in her chest.

Looking up, past the sky, she realized.

"NO! That.. That wasn't supposed to happen now!" she cried out, making all the dolls (and Tomoe) worried.

"What happened?" asked Souseiseki.

"Jun... Jun entered another dimension. Just like this is the Rosa Mystica's N-field, and use this to return your Rosa Mysticas... Jun entered the dimension where we make you human."

"Human? Like..."

"Yes. Like I am. But... that is a book one shouldn't open alone. The Medium and the doll should be together."

"What if they aren't nano~?"

"I don't know. I'm not Alice."

"Alice?" asked... well, everyone, inside and outside the N-field.

"Yeah, Alice. Or what do you think that book is? A book that changes it appearance to best fit the one that sees it... A book that allows dolls to become human... That book. It isn't nothing more... Than Alice's N-field."

"Jun."

She was worried, she was in panic, and she was never in panic. She ran upstairs, and entered Laura's room.

Jun was there, sitting on the floor, his eyes glassed over and the book shining in his hands.

"Jun!"

Without a second thought, she ran to him and jumped on the book. When she fell on Jun's lap, she was already asleep as well.

And so Shinku and Jun were both inside the N-field that had been sealed off by Alice before she died.

And somewhere in a jungle in South America, a young man looked at the sky, passing a head trought his sweaty blond locks, letting a single word escape his lips.

"Alice..."


End file.
